Harsh restrictions regarding where sex offenders live can cause them to become and remain homeless, Miller said. That can threaten their overall stability and jeopardize their treatment.

Dr. Jill Levenson, a professor of social work at Barry University, agrees. In her research, she said she has identified stable housing as one of the major factors in reducing recidivism rates, along with strong support systems and steady employment.

However, at the meeting, two local residents, Brucie Cummings and Ann Wiley, both expressed the concern that the new ordinance change still isn’t enough.

Cummings said she hoped Fort Lauderdale would be a “reasonable community” that would realize that “these laws do not make any sense.” She urged Trantalis and the commission to think about scaling back the restrictions to stay within the state standard of 1,000 feet.

Wiley agreed with Cummings, and told the commission that for people on the registry, “A sexual offender is not something they are; it’s something they did.”

Trantalis reminded Cummings that changing the ordinance to 1,000 feet would open up one-third of the city for offenders to live and suggested that this was “enlarging it so wide that people feel threatened.” He voiced his approval for the compromise, which changed the statute without making "folks in our community feel like they are at risk of encountering sexual predators.”